Iain Macwhirter
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Can a Prime Minister who tried to pass Article 50 by Royal Preogative be trusted with a Henry VIII clause?
Henry VIII’s “Statute of Proclamations” in 1539 gave the Tudor monarch the power to make laws without consulting parliament. Mind you – it was hardly a democratically elected legislature back in the day. The statute was anyway repealed after his death on the not unreasonable grounds that a regal dictatorship was not the best way … Continue reading
Best way to build support for independence is to tell Scots they can’t have it.
It may not seem like it, but a repeat referendum on Scottish independence is now all but inevitable, and Theresa May has made a Yes victory very much more likely. She did this by appearing to diminish the standing of the Scottish Parliament, and by taking a capricious and unreasonable line on the timing … Continue reading
Scotland between a rock and a hard Brexit.
As the hours tick away to Article 50 the British people are still almost completely in the dark about what it will actually mean. A pig in a poke looks like a square deal by comparison with Brexit. You only needed to listen to the Brexit Secretary, David Davis at the recent select committee … Continue reading
The SNP should level with the voters: independence won’t be a walk in the park.
“IT’S Scotland’s Oil,” claimed the once-ubiquitous SNP slogan. But times change: “It was Scotland’s Oil” makes more sense today. As recently as 2008, North Sea Oil revenues amounted to £11.5 billion – equivalent to a third of the Scottish Government budget. Today they are down to £60m having fallen 96 per cent last year alone. … Continue reading
After Scotland, Northern Ireland could be heading for another referendum.
Under the1998 Good Friday Agreement, the people of Northern Ireland have a right to a poll on whether they want to remain in the UK. No one thought it would ever be required. But no one ever thought the UK would be leaving the EU and taking the province with it. With Article 50 … Continue reading
If Indyref1 was about currency, Indyref2 will be about sovereignty.
Now that indyref2 – sorry “ScotRef” – has been declared, what kind of campaign is it likely to be? Unionist commentators, predictably forecast a more divisive and bitterly fought campaign than last time, and they may be right. But that’s only because, as the Scottish Police Federation made clear, the 2014 referendum was almost entirely … Continue reading
1999 and all that. As Scotland holds its breath for indyref2, how did we get here?
BLISS it was to be alive in those early days of devolution – except that it wasn’t. The rebirth of Scotland’s democracy after 300 years in spring, 1999 proved to be a painful affair, and plunged Scotland into a period of post-natal depression, which ended the careers, and the lives, of some of the architects … Continue reading
It was always naive to believe that Holyrood would gain where Brussels loses.
At least one thing is clear as we count down to Article 50 next week. The idea that Holyrood will automatically gain the powers repatriated from Brussels after Brexit was always naive. It’s not going to happen; never was. The Scottish parliament will get some more responsibilities, but exactly what will be decided by the … Continue reading
May and Sturgeon on A50 collision course. Indyref2 within days?
WE’RE all familiar with the game of chicken from Hollywood films. Two testosterone-fuelled men drive head-on at high speed in the sure knowledge that the weaker will eventually swerve to avoid catastrophe – only sometimes they don’t. But it seems women are just as capable of playing this dangerous game. Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon … Continue reading
Coal rolling the libtards and snowflakes. Why Trump’s shambolic administration is alt right on the night.
THERE’S a new automotive craze in backwoods America that even Jeremy Clarkson would find hard to stomach. It’s called ‘rolling coal’, and involves tuning the powerful diesel engines of jacked-up pickup trucks in such a way as to emit dense clouds of black smoke upon acceleration. The perpetrators are so proud of this poisonous sport … Continue reading
Iain Macwhirter 